Top 5 Books/Series I Read in 2023
I'm not an urgent reader
Alright, I didn’t read as much as I would have liked this year. Did get through some books I really liked a lot. I think I’m in a bit of a book hangover after six years of bookstore life so I needed a detox. With that said, here’s the five things I enjoyed most this year. There might be minor spoilers, be forewarned.
Rat Queens Vol 1 & 2. by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch - I love fantasy tropes. I love new bents on fantasy tropes. I love when fantasy is allowed to be adult without being exploitative. Rat Queens scratches a lot of those itches. It’s like Brian K. Vaughn and Garth Ennis decided to take on Critical Role. I have book three to read right now, thanks Jefferson!
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas - I found this book to be a little heavy handed at times. I think, at the end, the book gets more about the message and less about the story. As an adult, who has read a lot of literature on this same subject, it feels almost redundant.
But this is a book that teenagers will connect with, the message there and the education there is important for kids to read. This is a book that humanizes the black experience from a lot of different angles and is compelling. This is giving voice to a lot of people while directly attacking the cultural onslaught that is the black experience in America today.
White teenagers will read this and be forced to reconcile with their own behavior, because they are reflected here - illustrated and well developed. I think it is a good entry point for people curious about critical racial theory. The story, unfortunately at times, feels timeless and universal. Starr Carter is an all-time classic teen protagonist. Margaret is alive and well in Thomas’ very real world.
Starr is an introverted, inner city black girl who is going to a rich, white suburban school after one of her friends was killed in an act of violence. Her parents are pillars of the community, despite her father’s history as an ex-con and a former gangbanger. Starr lives in two worlds that violently collide when she attends a party and later that night is the sole witness to another childhood friend being murder by a police officer.
When that police officer starts to lie about what happened, Starr has a difficult choice to make. Does she keep her family safe by staying quiet, or does she speak out knowing it might not do any good?
The story deals with Starr’s trauma, coming to terms with micro-aggressive racist comments from supposed friends, learning to see that actions matter more than words and a host of so many powerful lessons for young adults. It is about doing the right thing when the right thing is so hard. It’s about finding an identity and taking accountability. I think Starr Carter is the Holden Caulfield a lot of kids actually need.
I have not seen the film yet, mostly because I’m afraid it won’t do the book justice.
Half-Bad Trilogy by Sally Green - I saw The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself on Netflix last year and was captivated. I couldn’t believe how real it was. Young Adult Fiction adapted for film and television tends to tone down the graphic content because it’s okay for kids to read it but not see it. This show did not. It was wonderful and would have found an audience by year two I think.
I loved the show that was tragically canceled by the modern execs at Netflix who won’t let any show develop unless it is massive hit. So, I was curious of the source material. At least I could get some closure to Nathan Byrne’s tragic tale. And it is truly a tragedy of epic proportions. Every victory Nathan achieves comes with a heavy cost.
Nathan grapples with morality, a mongrel Witch in a world where Right and Wrong are dictated by White and Black witches. So the allegory is a little on the nose right? You’d think, god how corny? And yet, the way those tropes are subverted and how critical Sally Green is of dystopian teen novels is fascinating. This is as much a response to the sanitization of YA Fiction as it is a compelling YA tale.
Nathan’s father is the dreadful Black Witch Marcus Edge! He eats the hearts of White Witches and steals their powers. His mother, a good White Witch, is collateral damage from associating with the bad guys. Green dives deep into characters histories to show why they did what they did and hits back at challenges raised in the first book. Nathan is complex, beautiful and his love triangle is heartbreaking and real.
I found the series end to be poignant and a fitting ending for one of the most tragic characters I’ve ever read. The books aren’t perfect, but they are worth reading and I would say a great fit for anyone who found YA trending too heavily to conformity.
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson - Two things about this book - the writing is some of the most vivid I’ve ever read and this is one of the best examples of an unreliable narrator ever.
The book follows a narrator who is distraught with her life and joins a study to find if the Hill House is haunted or not. Her slow descent into madness by the ghosts that haunt the house is waved off by the rational explanations for every incident. What is real and what isn’t? We can’t really tell and that’s where this book shines as a character study and a pillar of Gothic horror.
My one major complaint is the abrupt ending, it feels so rushed when everything else had been so well paced. A must read for any fans of classic literature.
Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab - A young Addison LaRue doesn’t see a suitable husband in her 1700s, rural French town. She spurns every lover, with dreams of going to Paris and hangs out with the town witch. When her parents finally marry off their daughter, Addie cries out to the night Gods, to any god that will listen to her.
Luc answers her prayers, she can have all the time in the world with the caveat that no one will remember her. Schwab bounces between the present and the past, filling in the details of Addie’s life and how she finds ways to leave a mark on the world. We also see the dynamic of Addie and Luc’s relationship grow and change over the years as he offers to free her from her curse.
Everything comes to a head when she meets Henry Strauss, a man who can remember her but has a secret of his own. He made a deal with Luc as well for anyone to see what they wanted most in Henry.
A year in their lives and the romance that grows is the best I’ve read since the Night Circus. The way Schwab tackles complicated relationship dynamics, the way toxic relationships impact our lives for years to come. Understanding that sometimes things don’t work out, sometimes we must face our past to grow beyond it, the beauty in sacrifice.
I read her Darker Shade of Magic trilogy and did not care for it. This was a welcome shock. This is one of the best fantasy books I’ve read in the 21st century.
Breann Rainbolt, who I met when I became her boss a few years ago, gave me some books she loved this year.
Breann is an avid reader, who loves young adult fiction. Me too! We don’t always like the same things and so I’m glad she can give a perspective I can’t!
5 star reads of 2023!
Romance
Practice Makes Perfect - Sarah Adams; Love a fake relationship, and I love that the author threw in the scenes of him reading her romance novels. Small town sweetheart meets Bad Boy.
Forget Me Not - Julie Soto; Second chance romance with a Grumpy x Sunshine trope featuring a florist and a wedding planner. Just a great time.
The Kiss Curse - Erin Sterling; Actually liked the second book better than the first installment. The banter was wonderful and the characters fit together so much better. Witchy vibes make it a perfect Fall read.
Fantasy
Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros; All the vibes of Hunger Games and Divergent but with dragons and a bit of spice.
Divine Rivals - Rebecca Ross; A rivals to romance story with war, magic, and gods. I didn't think I would like this as it's historical fantasy, but it was done so well.
The Serpent and the Wings of Night - Carissa Broadbent; I'm a sucker for an enemies to lovers trope. Add in vamps, magic, and a badass female lead and I'm there.
When Sorrows Come - Seanan McGuire; Finally a wedding and of course Toby gets into trouble. It seemed like a filler story, but it had some great moments between the characters.
Blood and Moonlight - Erin Beaty; Serial killers, moon magic, and a tortured soul romance make for a great book.
Stardust in their Veins - Laura Sebastian; Sequel to Castles in their Bones (which ended on a hell of a cliffhanger), this picks back up with the sisters trying to survive political plots and figuring out who to trust.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches - Sangu Mandanna; Cute vibes, witches, found family, and Grumpy x Sunshine. *chef's kiss*
Legends & Lattes - Travis Baldree; Who knew I could care so much about a fictional cafe? The issues and stakes in Viv's life were relatable and it was mixed with just enough fantasy to keep it fun.
Horror
House of Hollow - Krystal Sutherland; Very mysterious start but once it all starts coming together, I couldn't put it down. It gets pretty dark, so read the trigger warnings.
Zack Rearick, with whom I have an interview coming out next year, gave me ten of his favorites he read this year as well.
Zack is also an avid reader and he tackles some heavy duty literature! I hope I am able to do the same more over the next year. There’s a book that shows up on both their lists, I think I’m going to have to check it out!
Fake Accounts by Lauren Oyler
Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath by Heather Clark
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Magical Negro by Morgan Parker
Fat Ham by James Ijames
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
M-A-C-N-O-L-I-A by A. Van Jordan
Varieties of Disturbance by Lydia Davis
Tragodia 1: Statement of Facts by Vanessa Place
The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen
